6 Foods To Avoid For A More Restful Sleep

There should be no debate or contention that good sleep is a fundamental requirement for being healthy…

Seriously, can anyone think of a single strong argument against sleep being a fundamental requirement to functioning at 100%?

And yet, on average, we really struggle with it…

Around were prescribed in the US in 2011.

It’s estimated that 62% of Canadians suffer from sleep deprivation.

Even in Australia, the financial burden of sleep deprivation and its related disorders has reached a staggering 5.1 BILLION dollars.

THE CASE FOR A MORE RESTFUL SLEEP

When I ask to patients in practice about why they don’t get more sleep the response is usually something like: “I don’t have time… I have too much to do… I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” and I TOTALLY get that – it never seems like there are enough hours in the day…

…And the waking hours we do have are always jam packed!

Wake up, get the kids breakfast, take them to school, work, pick the kids up, after school sports, cook dinner, eat, cleaning up – and then you still have to prep for the next day because you need to do all of this again tomorrow.

Insufficient sleep has adverse effects on well-being, cognitive and psychomotor function, alertness, productivity, safety, learning and mood, and is also implicated in a range of other pathological processes, including metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease and mental health disorders.

A lack of sleep can dramatically affect a number of important processes, including:

Cellular repair
Immune system activity
Memory and problem solving
Mood and mental health
Inflammation
Weight gain

In fact, it goes even deeper than that – a 2013 study found that by REDUCING the amount of sleep you get by only one hour changes the activity of over 500 genes, primarily effecting those promoting inflammation and immune response, as well as groups of genes linked to cancer and diabetes. These changes were REVERSED when an extra hour of sleep was added back into the same test group.

We’ve already put together a tonne of information on how to create the perfect night’s sleep…

In this article, I want to attack this issue from the other side – I want to share with you what NOT to do. More specifically, lets look at specific foods to avoid for better sleep.

Coffee

Okay, there isn’t really much of a deabte about this one. Coffee is a major source of caffeine, which acts as a neuro-stimulant. Stimulants of this kind cause an increase in brain activity, particularly sympathetic nervous system activity, making it harder to fall asleep. To be safe, you should make sure your last cup of java happens BEFORE 3pm.

Alcohol

Once in a while you may reach for an extra adult beverage to help you wind down and relax before bed. Bed news is, while alcohol can make you feel drowsy, it actually prevents you from fully entering REM sleep – the deep type of sleep where all your healing and growth takes place. Several hours of REM sleep is required in order for you to wake up feeling refreshed and rested.

Junk Food

Foods high in trans fats and sugar like chips, cookies, fries and other late night snack foods are bad for you for a number of reasons. One reason is that these foods put undue chemical stress on your body, making it more difficult for it to perform tasks like healing, growth and – you guessed it – sleep.

Chocolate

Chocolate, like coffee, contains caffeine. This, plus sugar and other preservatives make for a difficult night’s sleep.

Dried Fruits

As well as typically being high in sugar content, dried fruits like apricots, dates and cranberries are high in fibre. Eating high fibre foods close to bed can be a lot for your body to digest, leading to indigestion, bloating, cramping and gas. Anybody (else) out there ever woken themselves up?

Green Tea

HUH??? I thought green tea was supposed to be good for you!?

Well it is – it has a load of fat burning, antioxidizing, liver cleansing power. BUT it also naturally contains theobromine, theophylline and caffeine, all of which act as stimulants, causing disturbances in sleep.

Obviously food isn’t the only thing that affects people’s sleep – there’s stress, fitness, other health conditions, and perhaps most insidious, the use of technology throughout the day.

Click below to download “Reboot Your Sleep – 4 Ways Technology Is Destroying Your Sleep And What To Do About It” and learn how to engineer the perfect night’s sleep.

Dr. Michael Gibson has committed himself to helping others to live the best life possible. After graduating with a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario, he received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree and Masters of Science in Chiropractic Sports Science from Life University. He is the co-creator of Life By Design, and co-owner of Synergy Wellness Group. His passion for empowering families runs deep. After experiencing the loss of his sister due to illness, Michael’s purpose became reaching and teaching as many as possible the foundational principles of an extraordinary life. Since that time, he has passionately pursued and been successful in living out his dream. He maintains a busy family chiropractic practice, a full speaking schedule, and finds time to implement the principles and practices of Life By Design in his own life.

6 Foods to Avoid For A More Restful Sleep (Including One You Wouldn’t Expect)